Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004

Drugged versus drunk driving: What are police seeing on the roads?

Motorists gave way to a swarm of emergency responders converging on one of the busiest blocks of Main Street in Binghamton's West Side.

Then a horrifying scene came into view.

A 47-year-old man this Monday evening of April 24 had been hit by a 2010 Hyundai Elantra, his body dragged under the car for several yards before it came to a stop.

Ronald I. Richardson was dead. And the Hyundai driver, Jennifer Grenchus, now is facing a vehicular manslaughter charge with allegations of drug-impaired driving.

For decades, enforcement and public education resources have targeted drunk driving. But now drug-impaired driving is growing as a cause of accidents and deaths across the United States and in Europe as alcohol-impaired driving is reportedly decreasing.

In 2015, just under 6 out of 10 fatally-injured drivers in the U.S. were tested for drugs. Of those, about a third showed evidence of drugs, according to federal data cited by a study on drug-impaired driving by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility in April.

Dozens of drugs — legal and illegal — can impair driving. "Many drivers do not understand how various drugs can affect driving ability and increase crash risk," according to the study

.Consider the late May driving under the influence arrest of golfer Tiger Woods in Florida. A toxicology report released Aug. 14 showed he had five different drugs in his body: THC, the active ingredient for marijuana, painkillers Vicodin and Dilaudid, anxiety and sleep drug Xanax and the anti-insomnia drug Ambien.

Across New York State, arrest trends reflect the nation: In recent years, incidents of alcohol-impaired drivers have declined slightly while arrests for drugged driving are becoming more frequent.

DeWine: Drug prevention education should be taught every year

In order to help tackle the drug epidemic, drug prevention education should be established at every Ohio school, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

“We’re not going to really get on top of this drug epidemic until we do a better job in regard to prevention,” he said during an outreach event for community leaders at the University of Toledo’s Brady Engineering Innovation Center.

Representatives from local law enforcement, the Toledo fire department, community agencies, and nonprofit organizations were present to learn about resources available through the attorney general’s office.

Mr. DeWine also spoke of a 2017 Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education, which examined appropriate education measures that schools and committees can take to reduce and help prevent substance abuse.

“You’re not going to talk to kindergarten kids about heroin, but you might talk to them about not picking up a pill that’s on the floor,” Mr. DeWine said.

The attorney general said he believes such education can be worked into curriculum, and several Ohio schools are already doing this, he said.

While Mr. DeWine said it’s not mandatory, “when he becomes governor,” he will ask that it be implemented in every school.

Ohio law does not permit the state Board of Education to adopt Health Education Standards; however, it does direct schools and districts to include health education and other related topics through its K-12 curriculum, according to Ohio Department of Education spokesman Brittany Halpin. The curriculum is chosen at the local level, she said.

OPINION: A Simple Move to Save Thousands of Lives From Overdose

By MEGAN McLEMORE and COREY DAVIS New York Times

AUG. 18, 2017

The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. More than 59,000 people are believed to have died from drug overdose in 2016, an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous year. Most of these deaths are caused by opioids like prescription painkillers, heroin and the potent synthetic drug fentanyl.

The Trump administration has said that addressing the opioid epidemic is a top priority. On Aug. 10, President Trump declared opioid use and overdose a national emergency. If the White House is serious about this problem, there is a simple step it should take as soon as possible to save thousands of lives.

A vast majority of opioid deaths are preventable if the person overdosing is given naloxone, a safe, easy-to-use and relatively inexpensive drug that has successfully reversed tens of thousands of overdoses over the years. But this medicine is often not on hand when and where it is needed. Making it more readily available could save many lives.

But the commission failed to endorse one step that could be a game changer in what it calls a “national emergency”: making naloxone available over the counter.

Naloxone, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1971, has been designated an “essential medicine” by the World Health Organization and has been used for decades in emergency rooms, ambulances and clinics. It is not a controlled substance, it is not believed to have any potential for abuse, and it has no clinical effect if given to someone not on opioids. With minimal training, anyone can easily administer it.

Drugged versus drunk driving: What are police seeing on the roads?

Motorists gave way to a swarm of emergency responders converging on one of the busiest blocks of Main Street in Binghamton's West Side.

Then a horrifying scene came into view.

A 47-year-old man this Monday evening of April 24 had been hit by a 2010 Hyundai Elantra, his body dragged under the car for several yards before it came to a stop.

Ronald I. Richardson was dead. And the Hyundai driver, Jennifer Grenchus, now is facing a vehicular manslaughter charge with allegations of drug-impaired driving.

For decades, enforcement and public education resources have targeted drunk driving. But now drug-impaired driving is growing as a cause of accidents and deaths across the United States and in Europe as alcohol-impaired driving is reportedly decreasing.

In 2015, just under 6 out of 10 fatally-injured drivers in the U.S. were tested for drugs. Of those, about a third showed evidence of drugs, according to federal data cited by a study on drug-impaired driving by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility in April.

Dozens of drugs — legal and illegal — can impair driving. "Many drivers do not understand how various drugs can affect driving ability and increase crash risk," according to the study

.Consider the late May driving under the influence arrest of golfer Tiger Woods in Florida. A toxicology report released Aug. 14 showed he had five different drugs in his body: THC, the active ingredient for marijuana, painkillers Vicodin and Dilaudid, anxiety and sleep drug Xanax and the anti-insomnia drug Ambien.

Across New York State, arrest trends reflect the nation: In recent years, incidents of alcohol-impaired drivers have declined slightly while arrests for drugged driving are becoming more frequent.

DeWine: Drug prevention education should be taught every year

In order to help tackle the drug epidemic, drug prevention education should be established at every Ohio school, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

“We’re not going to really get on top of this drug epidemic until we do a better job in regard to prevention,” he said during an outreach event for community leaders at the University of Toledo’s Brady Engineering Innovation Center.

Representatives from local law enforcement, the Toledo fire department, community agencies, and nonprofit organizations were present to learn about resources available through the attorney general’s office.

Mr. DeWine also spoke of a 2017 Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education, which examined appropriate education measures that schools and committees can take to reduce and help prevent substance abuse.

“You’re not going to talk to kindergarten kids about heroin, but you might talk to them about not picking up a pill that’s on the floor,” Mr. DeWine said.

The attorney general said he believes such education can be worked into curriculum, and several Ohio schools are already doing this, he said.

While Mr. DeWine said it’s not mandatory, “when he becomes governor,” he will ask that it be implemented in every school.

Ohio law does not permit the state Board of Education to adopt Health Education Standards; however, it does direct schools and districts to include health education and other related topics through its K-12 curriculum, according to Ohio Department of Education spokesman Brittany Halpin. The curriculum is chosen at the local level, she said.

OPINION: A Simple Move to Save Thousands of Lives From Overdose

By MEGAN McLEMORE and COREY DAVIS New York Times

AUG. 18, 2017

The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. More than 59,000 people are believed to have died from drug overdose in 2016, an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous year. Most of these deaths are caused by opioids like prescription painkillers, heroin and the potent synthetic drug fentanyl.

The Trump administration has said that addressing the opioid epidemic is a top priority. On Aug. 10, President Trump declared opioid use and overdose a national emergency. If the White House is serious about this problem, there is a simple step it should take as soon as possible to save thousands of lives.

A vast majority of opioid deaths are preventable if the person overdosing is given naloxone, a safe, easy-to-use and relatively inexpensive drug that has successfully reversed tens of thousands of overdoses over the years. But this medicine is often not on hand when and where it is needed. Making it more readily available could save many lives.

But the commission failed to endorse one step that could be a game changer in what it calls a “national emergency”: making naloxone available over the counter.

Naloxone, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1971, has been designated an “essential medicine” by the World Health Organization and has been used for decades in emergency rooms, ambulances and clinics. It is not a controlled substance, it is not believed to have any potential for abuse, and it has no clinical effect if given to someone not on opioids. With minimal training, anyone can easily administer it.